Prison Blog - Genpop.org

New Guest Blogger: Brandi Pool

2009-11-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

We have a new guest blogger here at Genpop.org, Brandi, who is a criminology student in Odessa, Tx. Here are the answers to the questions I posed to guest bloggers:

1. Are there any circumstances under which you would support state sanctioned killing?
None that I can imagine at this point. I was asked this question this morning in my Law & Society class by a class mate, “you mean if your daughter was raped and murdered you wouldn’t want the person who did it to die?” My reply was that in that situation I wouldn’t have the ability to make a rational decision on the matter and that emotion shouldn’t play a role in determining the fate of another person. See 1st attachment.

2. Do you believe there are situations in which children should be tried as adults? If yes, which situations.
Laws surrounding this issue in Texas currently seem well thought out, but the age at which you can be tried as an adult varies from state to state – with some of them being ridiculous. I believe North Carolina permits it at age 7! If I were to say yes to this question it would be based on the individual. How close to 18 are they? Whether or not there were extenuating circumstances, if they had a long record of felonies, if animal abuse was a part of their history, if their crime “shocked the conscience,” if they seemed unable to be rehabilitated, then yes, I don’t think they should benefit from a clean slate at the age of 18. The death penalty needs to remain unconstitutional for those under 18, regardless of my overall opinion on the death penalty.

3. Name one thing that could change in the American Justice System that you think would make a massive difference in the public's safety and US crime rates.
My goal is to become a college professor with the privilege to remain gainfully employed, to further the Liberal Education of others, and – here’s the selfish part – to do research that can and hopefully WILL influence our state and federal legislators on editing current and creating new laws that BENEFIT everyone. I’m cautiously optimistic, willingly sounding cliché. To address the real question you’ve asked, however, the second attachment should cover it.

Brandi also writes for Amazon Cares and you can follow her on Twitter here: @TxCriMjr

I look forward to her first post! If you are interested in becoming a guest blogger here on Genpop.org, read the info posted at : http://www.genpop.org/2009/11/guest-bloggers-needed.html

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, blogger, criminology

Goodnight John Allen Muhammad

2009-11-10T16:44:00.001-08:00

John Allen Muhammad, the supposed sniper that terrorized Washington DC for 3 weeks in 2002, is set to die tonight at 9pm.

His lawyer insists he is innocent. As we learned from the Cameron Todd Willingham case, this could very possibly be true. Which means a few things:

1. An innocent man could be murdered legally tonight.
2. A very guilty murderer remains at large and could kill again at any moment.
3. Whether this man is innocent or guilty, a law-abiding, innocent family will be punished for loving him.

All in your name. Think about it. Think about your tax dollars (a lot of them) being spent on this. Mull it over tonight while your government kills another human being. Just think about it. It's all I ask.

Technorati Tags: prison, death penalty, capital punishment, john allen muhammad, sniper, dc, washington, death sentence, death row, inmate, execution, crime, law, murder

Guest Bloggers Needed!

2009-11-05T12:44:00.001-08:00

The business is picking up, the boy is walking, and living in the big city just has a tendency to suck up your time. Doing what? I can't put my finger on it, but it seems I had a lot more time to do things like blog on Genpop.org when I was living in Mexico. In any case, I love this blog, I love this web site and I don't want it's readers to get bored and abandon it, so I'm looking for someone or several people who want to blog about prison issues, treatment of inmates, the anti-death penalty movement, wrongful convictions and prison books.

Candidates must be fully literate, good with English grammar and spelling (funnily, I typed that wrong and had to edit) and have a serious interest in these issues whether they are professionals or not. I don't want death penalty supporters, I don't want tough-on-crimers. I would like thoughtful, intelligent individuals that can look at empirical data that is widely available from one coast to another, and see that the way we treat our criminals is not helping to make us safer.

While I have absolutely nothing against any religion, I would like to keep religion out of this blog so as not to alienate anyone. This blog is about prison and the death penalty and how both of these punishments simply do not work.

You must also agree that anything you post is subject to my own personal edits. Yeah. That's how we're running things over here. Big brother style. Take it or leave it. (I can't think of any situation that would call for these edits, so long as we stick to the subject matter).

Benefits to you include:

- Doing something good for people who really need it, and for your community
- Educating the public on very serious issues that threaten our personal safety.
- Being able to plug your own related web site or organization every once in a while.

Send me your full name, email address, location, what your relationship to the issues surrounding prison is, an example of your writing and answer these 3 questions:

1. Are there any circumstances under which you would support state sanctioned killing?

2. Do you believe there are situations in which children should be tried as adults? If yes, which situations.

3. Name one thing that could change in the American Justice System that you think would make a massive difference in the public's safety and US crime rates.

If you don't want to be a guest blogger but still want to answer these questions, I welcome the answers in the comments. Otherwise email your application to vlu777@gmail.com

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, bloggers wanted, blogging, bloggers

Prison Twitter List

2009-11-05T12:21:00.001-08:00

So I started a Twitter list for all my favorite prison related tweeple, which you can see here: http://twitter.com/vlu77/prison-related - I skimmed through all the people I followed and picked out the members of the list, but 5000 twitter accounts is a lot so I probably missed a few here and there. If you'd like to be added to it, @reply me, don't DM. I get too many direct messages, I never read them. I wish I had time, but I barely have time to run this blog. Which brings me to my next post, coming in a few minutes.

Technorati Tags: twitter lists, twitter, prison, crime, law

Prosecutorial Immunity

2009-11-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

SCOTUSblog on prosecutorial immunity in the case of Curtis McGhee:

Prosecutors are normally immune from suit for their official actions during a trial. Tomorrow, in Pottawattamie County v. McGhee, the Court will consider whether that immunity extends to actions taken in preparation for trial. The stakes in this technical question are high because the prosecutors’ actions at issue in the case resulted in two men – the respondents here – being incarcerated for twenty-five years based on falsified evidence.

In 1978, Curtis McGhee and Terry Harrington were convicted of murdering a retired police officer in Pottawattamie County, Iowa and sentenced to life in prison. Twenty-five years later, the release of new files in the cases revealed that prosecutors had fabricated the testimony of a lead witness at their trials and failed to disclose evidence about an alternative suspect to the defense. The Iowa Supreme Court vacated Harrington’s sentence, and McGhee pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for time served. Both prisoners were freed.

After their release, McGhee and Harrington sued the prosecutors and the county officers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court ruled that the prosecutors could be held liable for violating McGhee and Harrington’s substantive due process rights, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed that conclusion.

Amy Howe has previously written on the certiorari‑stage briefs in the case at SCOTUSwiki; you can read her discussion here.

The two main issues discussed by both parties in their merits briefs are, first, whether the respondents McGhee and Harrington can establish a constitutional violation by the Pottawattamie County prosecutors; and, second, whether the prosecutors have immunity from suit under § 1983 for such a violation.

In 1976, the Supreme Court held in Imbler v. Pachtman that prosecutors have absolute immunity from liability for their official actions during trial. That conclusion rested largely on policy reasons: the Court emphasized that prosecutors must be able to pursue criminals with “courage and independence,” and without worrying about the threat of lawsuits.

Read the rest: How Broad Is Prosecutorial Immunity? | SCOTUSblog

Anyone who knowingly introduces falsified evidence in court and it results in an innocent man's freedom being taken away, especially for that amount of time, ought to be treated like a criminal. I don't see the question here. It's pretty straight forward to me.

Technorati Tags: prosecutorial immunity, scotus, curtis mcghee, prison, crime, law, murder

Featured Prison Revisit: Pleasant Valley State Prison, CA

2009-11-04T10:04:00.001-08:00

I covered Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, California back in July, but we're going to bring it up again because it is where Robert F. Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan has been transferred to from Corcoran recently.

Sirhan is now 65 years old, and remains a target in the prison system. He had been in protective housing at Corcoran after being single out as a potential terrorist threat. He had been in isolation for 6 years, and was concerned about his safety at Pleasant Valley. At Pleasant Valley, he would still have his own cell but would interact with more inmates than at Corcoran.

Pleasant Valley is a minimum to medium security prison, unlike the minimum to maximum security Corcoran. Pleasant Valley State Prison is grossly overcrowded.

The Associated Press: Robert F. Kennedy's killer is moved to new site

Technorati Tags: sirhan sirhan, robert f kennedy, bobby kennedy, assassination, assassin, prison, crime, law, murder, corcoran state prison, pleasant valley state prison, california

The Dying Death Penalty in Maryland

2009-10-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

The death penalty, in Maryland and elsewhere, is dying. Its death rattle is audible in court rooms and state houses around the nation. And well it should, because it just doesn't work the way it's applied. So maybe the time has arrived to end all the delaying and posturing by doing away with capital punishment once and for all. Governor O'Malley, a death penalty opponent, tried and failed but settled for a compromise. And here we are again, hung up on the protocols of taking a life by lethal injection.

The death penalty in America is an elaborate game of angles and loopholes that anybody on death row can play with the help of a willing attorney who'll file a lifetime of appeals that have little or no relationship to the condemned person's transgression. And all the while it costs $50,000 a year to house a prisoner. There are currently five inmates on death row in Maryland

The death penalty in Maryland has, in effect, been suspended for three years in a dispute over the manner in which the punishment is applied. And the moratorium was recently extended by indirection when a review panel of legislators found "serious flaws" in the new regulations that were proposed by the O'Malley administration. The committee attempted to subpoena all 24 state's attorneys to testify because of differences over how the death penalty is applied in the various counties. The subpoenas were dropped.

Read the rest: The Slow Death of Capital Punishment | Politics & Media | SPLICETODAY.COM

Technorati Tags: death penalty, death row, death sentence, capital punishment, moratorium, maryland, crime, law, prison, inmate

It should NEVER be too late for claims of innocence

2009-10-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

News out of Texas:

It's not entirely unusual for supporters of a death row inmate to throw everything but the kitchen sink out there to make their case, but a fax from "Supporters of Reginald Blanton," have made an interesting allegation. Blanton is scheduled to be executed tomorrow.
Reginald Blanton who faces execution on October 27, 2009 has
just been denied commutation of his death sentence to a lesser
penalty by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. This is in the
face of being advised that there is no physical evidence of guilt.
There is evidence of a shoe print on the door of the murder
victim's apartment which does not match the shoes worn by Blanton
either is style of shoe sole or in size. Charles Aycock, an
attorney and member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, met with
Blanton and refused to listen to Blanton's description of his
innocence and unfair legal process. Aycock told Blanton that the
Board was not interested in his innocence. Blanton asked if the
Board was not the last forum to which the issue of innocence could
be brought. Aycock told Blanton again that the Board was not
interested in his innocence. He also refused to listen to any
explanation by Blanton for the number of infractions reflected in
Blanton's prison record as being the result of Blanton's stand for
fair treatment of inmates and compliance by the Texas Criminal
Justice Department with their own regulations. Recent coverage of
the bias of the Board in the Houston Chronicle is confirmed by the
treatment Blanton received. Blanton said it is evident that
Aycock had not read the petition for clemency.
To be fair, I'm not sure it is the board's job to retry the case.

So, what? Just kill him instead? Like they did Cameron Todd Willingham? Yes, due to a technicality, ignore the claims of innocence, and kill the bastard. Because it is the structure and technicalities of the American justice system that keep it's crime rates so respectably low, right? *shakes head*

TEXAS DEATH PENALTY Blog | The Dallas Morning News

Technorati Tags: death penalty, death row, death sentence, capital punishment, execution, texas, reginald blanton, innocence, crime, law, prison, inmate

Prison Book: A Prison Diary by Jeffrey Archer

2009-10-23T09:43:00.001-07:00

A Prison Diary by Jeffrey Archer is about prison in the UK. Jeffrey Archer was a bestselling novelist and British Lord. He was convicted of perjury and sentenced to four years in prison. This is volume one in a series of 3 books recounting his time in British prisons, starting with BMP Belmarsh, a notorious, maximum security lockup. This first of three was written while he was incarcerated at Belmarsh.

The book describes daily life in British lockup and explains the daily routine as well as the unexpected moments he experienced while at Belmarsh.

Jeffrey Archer is critical of the British prison system and questions many different policies, including sending small time criminals and short-term offenders to a high-security prison like Belmarsh, explaining that it makes a bad situation worse.

While I would hardly describe this book as excellent, it was extremely interesting to someone who almost exclusively reads books about the American prison system. There are some blaring differences and some surprising similarities. It is definitely worth a read, along with the other two books in the series, Purgatory: A Prison Diary Volume 2 and Heaven: A Prison Diary Volume 3

To suggest a book to be featured on Genpop, please email me: vlu777@gmail.com

Click here for the archive of all prison books.

Technorati Tags: prison diary, jeffrey archer, bmp belmarsh, belmarsh, prison, crime, law, incarceration

DNA Test Waivers, or Rather, Bull%&*$

2009-10-22T10:07:00.001-07:00

The Plain Error Blog at the Innocence Project of Florida just keeps getting better and better. I highly recommend subscribing to the feed.

Plain Error recently posted about DNA test waivers, which basically make federal defendants waive their right to DNA testing if they plead guilty. I really don't understand this, and I will never understand anyone's opposition to DNA testing whenever possible. Pre-trial, post-conviction, post-execution, it doesn't matter. Should the truth not matter more than anything? More than the cost of DNA testing, more that the possibility of the authorities being wrong? I believe DNA testing should be allowed, automatically, for any defendant, convicted felon or death row inmate no matter how long it's been since conviction. We should, first and foremost, be concerned with the rights of human beings, and denying a potentially innocent person the right to prove that innocence is a violation of basic human rights, even if 9 out of every 10 are proven guilty.

During the Bush administration, a policy was passed requiring some federal defendants to abandon their right to DNA testing, mainly those who plead guilty. These waivers deny the defendant DNA testing, a federal right granted to them in the Innocence Protection Act of 2004, even if new evidence emerges.
Prosecutors who use them, including some of the nation’s most prominent U.S. attorneys, say people who have admitted guilt should not be able to file frivolous petitions for testing. They say the wave of DNA exonerations has little impact in federal court because all those found to be innocent were state prisoners, and the waivers apply only to federal charges. DNA evidence is used far more frequently in state courts.
This pretty much undermines the 2004 law, since a majority of federal inmates plea guilty (97%). Prosecutors often present the waiver alongside a plea agreement, and failure to sign the waiver breaks the agreement seeking lighter prison time.

Read more: Justice Department to Review DNA Test Waivers | Innocence Project of Florida

Technorati Tags: dna testing, dna test waivers, federal prison, innocence project, prison, crime, law

Tenth Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty

2009-10-22T09:18:00.001-07:00

From the Texas Moratorium Network:

It is time to march and rally to abolish the death penalty. This Saturday at 2 PM in Austin at the Texas Capitol is the 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Three innocent, exonerated former death row prisoners will be among the special guests at theTenth Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty October 24, 2009 on the South Steps of the Capitol at 11th and Congress. Also attending will be the friend of Todd Willingham, Elizabeth Gilbert, a Houston teacher and playwright who first investigated his innocence and is still fighting to exonerate him. Plus, Todd’s last lawyer Walter "Skip" Reaves.

Scott Cobb of Texas Moratorium Network said: “The last request of Todd Willingham to his parents was 'please don’t ever stop fighting to vindicate me.' Please attend the march to support the Willingham family as they continue to fight to prove that Todd Willingham was innocent."
10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty October 24 in Austin

Panel Discussion: Friday, October 23, the night before the march, there will be a panel discussion on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin at 7 PM with Elizabeth Gilbert (the penpal of Todd Willingham who first investigated and then advocated for his innocence), Shujaa Graham and Curtis McCarty, who will both speak about what it is like to be innocent and sentenced to death. Shujaa spent three years on death row in California. Curtis spent 19 years on death row in Oklahoma before his exoneration and release in 2007. The panel is in the Sinclair Suite (room 3.128) of the Texas Student Union on Guadalupe Street.

Schedule for the 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty
Saturday Oct 24 in Austin
1 PM – 2 PM Press conference in the Speaker’s Committee Room (2.W6) inside the Capitol building. The purpose is to allow the media to ask questions and conduct interviews with the speakers listed above.
2 PM We start to gather at the Texas Capitol on the sidewalk by the South gate of the Capitol entrance on Congress Avenue at 11th Street (Map)
2:30 or 2:45 Start to march down Congress Ave to 6th Street and back to Capitol
3:00 or 3:15 Rally on the South Steps of the Texas Capitol with speakers.

Speakers at the march will include three innocent, now-exonerated death row prisoners (Shujaa Graham, Curtis McCarty and Ron Keine), Jeff Blackburn (Chief Counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas), Jeanette Popp (a mother whose daughter was murdered but who asked the DA not to seek the death penalty), Elizabeth Gilbert (the penpal of Todd Willingham mentioned in The New Yorker article who first investigated his innocence and helped his family find a fire expert to investigate), Walter Reaves (the last attorney for Todd Willingham, who fought for him through the execution and continues to fight to exonerate him), Terri Been whose brother Jeff Wood is on death row convicted under the Law of Parties even though he did not kill anyone, and Anna Terrell the mother of Reginald Blanton who is scheduled for execution in Texas on Oct 27 three days after the march, plus other family members of people currently on Texas death row.

Post-march Strategy Meeting: Immediately after the march on October 24, we plan to hold a networking and strategy meeting inside the capitol. Everyone is invited to attend the strategy session and help us plan how to move forward towards abolition in Texas. A major aspect of the session will be for family members of people on death row to share their stories and learn from each other and us how tThe strategy session will start about 30 minutes after the last speaker at the march and last about an hour and a half.

If you are in Houston and want to ride a bus to Austin for the march, e-mail abolition.movement@hotmail.com to confirm a seat on the bus from Houston to Austin for the march on Saturday. They will meet at S.H.A.P.E. Center, 3815 Live Oak, 9:30 Saturday morning in Houston, have a press conference at 10:00 where they will shout it from the rooftop that Todd Willingham was innocent. Then they will leave for the march in Austin. They will return to Houston after the march and rally.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in 2006 that in the modern judicial system there has not been “a single case–not one–in which it is clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit. If such an event had occurred in recent years, we would not have to hunt for it; the innocent’s name would be shouted from the rooftops.” On Saturday Oct 24 in Austin, people from across Texas will gather and shout out that Todd Willingham was innocent to show the world and Rick Perry that there are people in Texas who are convinced that Todd was innocent and that executions in Texas should be stopped before another innocent person is executed”.

The annual march is organized by several Texas anti-death penalty organizations, including the Austin chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Texas Moratorium Network, the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty and Kids Against the Death Penalty and sponsored by over 50 various organizations. For the full list of sponsors, click here.

Thank you to everyone who has already signed the petition to Governor Rick Perry and the State of Texas to acknowledge that the fire in the Cameron Todd Willingham case was not arson, therefore no crime was committed and on February 17, 2004, Texas executed an innocent man.

More than 3,260 people have signed. We are also working with another organization (CredoMobile) that collected 2,617 on their own similar petition. So together we are nearing 6,000 petition signatures to turn in to Rick Perry on October 24 during the 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty in Austin at the Texas Capitol.

Thank you also to the many people who have donated to help us organize the march. We have reached our goal of raising $1,000 for the march! Your contribution now will help us continue to fight the death penalty after the march.

You can make a tax-deductible donation by credit card or by sending a check to:

Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center
3616 Far West Blvd, Suite 117, Box 251
Austin, Texas 78731

Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so donations are tax-deductible.

We are making a difference! After ten years of organizing the Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty, we have convinced many people to change their minds from supporting to opposing the death penalty. Just this week, former Texas Governor Mark White announced he has changed his mind about the death penalty.

Former Gov. Mark White, who was involved in the executions of 20 condemned criminals, says it may be time for Texas to do away with the death penalty. The death penalty is no longer a deterrent to murder, and long stays for the condemned on death row shows justice is not swift, White said. More than anything, he said, he has grown concerned that the system is not administered fairly and that there are too many risks of executing innocent people. White said the state needs to take a serious look at replacing the death penalty with life without parole. “There is a very strong case to be made for a review of our death penalty statutes and even look at the possibility of having life without parole so we don't look up one day and determined that we as the state of Texas have executed someone who is in fact innocent,” said White.

If you live outside Texas and can not attend the march Saturday, please call Governor Perry and leave him a voice mail saying that you are participating by telephone in the 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty. Tell him to stop covering up the execution of an innocent man. Tell him to admit Todd Willingham was innocent. Tell him to Stop Executions before he executes another innocent man.

Gov. Rick Perry's Voice Mail - 512 463 1782.

Technorati Tags: texas, death penalty, death sentence, death row, capital punishment, execution, lethal injection, cameron todd willingham, texas moratorium, rick perry, governor, march, crime, law, prison

Featured Prison: Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison

2009-10-21T10:14:00.001-07:00

The Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison houses Georgia's death row inmates, otherwise known as inmates under death sentence or UDS inmates. It is also home to the death chamber, where inmates are executed via lethal injection. Most recently, Mark McClain.

The prison opened in 1968 in Jackson, Georgia and has a capacity for 1785 maximum security or UDS inmates. It is the largest prison in the state of Georgia. It serves as the diagnostic center or processing center for the Georgia Department of Corrections.

This is also where Troy Anthony Davis is housed, a death row inmate who has maintained his innocence since his conviction in 1991. After his conviction, a vast majority of the prosecutions witnesses recanted their testimonies and further evidence supporting the theory that someone else committed the crime surfaced. This past August, the Supreme Court ordered a hearing in Troy Davis' case.

To submit a little known fact about this or any other prison, or to suggest a prison for next week's featured prison, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

|| Georgia Department of Corrections ||

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georgia Diagnostic & Classification Prison - Prison Talk

Hard Time | Photos | - National Geographic Channel

Maximum Security: American Justice | Programmes | National Geographic Channel

Troy Davis case - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Troy Anthony Davis

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, death row, death sentence, death penalty, capital punishment, execution, troy davis, georgia, jackson, georgia diagnostic and classifcation prison, mark, mcclain

Mark White: Review the Death Penalty

2009-10-20T11:46:00.001-07:00

From Plain Error at the Innocence Project of Florida:

As Texas Governor Rick Perry shamelessly insists on plowing ahead with the October 27th execution of Reggie Blanton (for a good article on the Blanton case go HERE), former Texas Governor Mark White is urging for a review of the death penalty in Texas following the recent hullabaloo surrounding Perry’s actions relating to the 2004 execution of Todd Willingham. A Houston Chronicle article today quoted the former Governor as saying he believes the “system is so unreliable it creates an unnecessary possibility that an innocent person would be executed in Texas.” Well, kudos to Governor White, but he only got it partially correct. The system he refers to is so unreliable that it does not merely create the possibility that an innocent person would be executed in Texas, it in fact permitted an innocent person to be executed in Texas. His name was Todd Willingham. While Perry appallingly refuses to come to terms with (or even speak somewhat honestly about) Willingham’s execution, Governor White (who presided over the execution of twenty individuals during his time in office) has some more intelligent things to say, e.g.
There is a very strong case to be made for a review of our death penalty statutes and even look at the possibility of having life without parole so we don’t look up one day and determined that we as the state of Texas have executed someone who is in fact innocent

Read the rest: Former Texas Governor Calls for Review of Death Penalty in Texas | Innocence Project of Florida

Technorati Tags: texas, death penalty, capital punishment, execution, crime, law, prison, governor, rick perry, reggie blanton, mark white, death row, inmate

Was Perry Briefed Before Willingham Died?

2009-10-15T10:32:00.001-07:00

Just 88 minutes before the February 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, Gov. Rick Perry's office received by fax a crucial arson expert's opinion that later ignited a political firestorm over whether Texas, on Perry's watch, used botched forensic evidence to send a man to his death.

In a letter sent Feb. 14, three days before Willingham was scheduled to die, Perry had been asked to postpone the execution. The condemned man's attorney argued that the newly obtained expert evidence showed Willingham had not set the house fire that killed his daughters, 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmon and Kameron, two days before Christmas in 1991.

On Feb. 17, the day of the execution, Perry's office got the five-page faxed report at 4:52 p.m., according to documents the Houston Chronicle obtained in response to a public records request.

But it's unclear from the records whether he read it that day. Perry's office has declined to release any of his or his staff's comments or analysis of the reprieve request.

A statement from Perry spokesman Chris Cutrone, sent to the Chronicle late Friday, said that “given the brevity of (the) report and the general counsel's familiarity with all the other facts in the case, there was ample time for the general counsel to read and analyze the report and to brief the governor on its content.”

wrongful-convictions: Perry's office quiet on expert's arson report

Technorati Tags: texas, governor, rick perry, caermon todd willingham, execution, death penalty, capital punishment, death row, innocence, wrongful conviction, prison, crime, law

Shackling Female Inmates During Labor

2009-10-15T10:09:00.001-07:00

This grossly torturous practice is finally being condemned:

I’m not sure if this has been posted here yet, but its been all over the web recently. Earlier this month, in a 6-5 decision, an en banc 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned last year’s decision by a three judge panel for the Circuit and held that constitutional protections against shackling pregnant women during labor had been clearly established by decisions of the Supreme Court and the lower courts. The full decision is available HERE.

The Americn Civil Liberties Union, which represented the prisoner who brought the complaint, recently issued a Press Release, described the facts of the case as follows:

[Shawanna] Nelson was a 29-year-old non-violent offender who was six months pregnant with her second child when she was incarcerated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADOC) in June 2003. Three months later, after going into labor, she was taken to a local hospital where correctional officers shackled her legs to opposite sides of the bed. Nelson remained shackled to the bed for several hours of labor until she was finally taken to the delivery room.

The shackles caused Nelson cramps and intense pain, as she could not adjust her position during contractions. She was unshackled during delivery, but was immediately re-shackled after the birth of her son. After childbirth, the use of shackles caused her to soil the sheets of her bed because she could not be unshackled quickly enough to get to a bathroom.

8th Circuit Court of Appeals Rejoins Humanity and Condemns Shackling Of Pregnant Prisoners In Labor | Innocence Project of Florida

Technorati Tags: prison, law, crime, inmate, women, pregnancy, shackles, labor

Featured Prison: Northeast Correctional Center

2009-10-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

The Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Missouri, opened in 1988 and has a capacity of 1,975 high - medium security inmates.

In 2008, inmates and filmakers collaborated on several projects including:

The single-channel video Time and Time Again was produced during an extended collaborative project with inmates at Northeast Correctional Center (NECC), a close-security men’s prison in Bowling Green, Missouri. The script is written as a long list of common clichés, proverbs, and other familiar sayings about time, arranged to create a through-line as it progresses. Filmed inside the prison, the phrases are recited by a group of 20 actors from NECC and are edited into quick succession. The language is by nature generic and overly familiar, phrases we have heard over and over, but who is speaking them makes all the difference to their meaning.

Jan Estep » Time and Doing Time

Recently, NECC has been in the news because an inmate at the facility threatened to kill President Barack Obama in a letter. The inmate, Josh Randall McCallum, faces federal charges that could land him five more years in prison.

Missouri inmate charged with threatening to kill President Obama in letter mailed from prison

MO Department of Corrections - Northeast Correctional Center

Northeast Correctional Center - Missouri - Profile - Prison Talk

Alberici Enterprises: State of Missouri Northeast Correctional Center

Northeast Correctional Center

To submit a little known fact about this or any other prison, or to suggest a prison for next week's featured prison, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, assassination, threat, barack obama, president, inmate, letter, northeast correctional center, missouri, bowling green

Prison Book: 4,000 Days by Warren Fellows

2009-10-09T10:20:00.001-07:00

4,000 Days: My Life and Survival in a Bangkok Prison. Alright, so this book isn't about the American Prison system but it's a fantastic read anyway. Warren Fellows is an Australian who was imprisoned in Thailand for drug trafficking. Fellows was locked up for 11 years, or 4,000 days, along with professional rugby player and former Olympian, Paul Hayward. While in prison in Thailand, Fellows became addicted to the very drug he had been trafficking. His conviction was overturned on appeal and he received a royal pardon in 1989.

The book, 4,000 Days is a journal of Warren Fellows' time in Thai prison. It is extremely unpleasant, horrifying and shocking. By the time you put the book down, you find yourself wondering how any human being can go through that and come out relatively alright. For those of you who have seen the movie Brokedown Palace, this is 200 times worse. I read this book before my return to Thailand 3 years ago and I couldn't help but think about it the whole time I was there, about 3 weeks or so. A spectacular trip otherwise, I kept thinking about the fact that there were prisons in this country that treat people the way I read about in that book. Haunting to say the least.

4,000 Days is a fantastic read and a definite recommendation to anyone wanting to know about prisons and justice systems around the world.

To suggest a book to be featured on Genpop, please email me: vlu777@gmail.com

Click here for the archive of all prison books.

Technorati Tags: prison, thailand, warren fellows, crime, law

The High Cost of the Death Penalty

2009-10-08T15:42:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday I had an argument with @Imajyn about the cost of the death penalty. I caught this tweet:

I'm not talking about the death penalty. I <3 the death penalty. WAY cheaper than life in prison. I'm talking about eugenics (http://twitter.com/Imajyn/status/4664075202)

And I thought I ought to educate the fellow. Some of the things that were said in the ensuing argument would have been amusing had we not been talking about a life or death issue. It got me thinking about how amazing it is to me that people still believe in this myth, that the death penalty costs less than life in prison. Even when you stop to think about it, it doesn't make sense, and yet people insist it is true. I suppose none of them are really stopping to think about it.

Regardless, I was looking for some good facts to sling his way and prove my point, when I came across this excellent article in the New York Times:

... keeping inmates on death row in Florida costs taxpayers $51 million a year more than holding them for life without parole. North Carolina has put 43 people to death since 1976 at $2.16 million per execution. The eventual cost to taxpayers in Maryland for pursuing capital cases between 1978 and 1999 is estimated to be $186 million for five executions.

Perhaps the most extreme example is California, whose death row costs taxpayers $114 million a year beyond the cost of imprisoning convicts for life. The state has executed 13 people since 1976 for a total of about $250 million per execution. This is a state whose prisons are filled to bursting (unconstitutionally so, the courts say) and whose government has imposed doomsday-level cuts to social services, health care, schools and parks.

Read more: Editorial - High Cost of Death Row - NYTimes.com

Technorati Tags: death row, death penalty, capital punishment, budget, cost, execution, prison, crime, law

DNA Exoneration Project Gets Federal Grant Funds

2009-10-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

The newly-created Colorado Justice Review Project, which will review 5,000 rapes, murders and manslaughters to ascertain if defendants were wrongly convicted, has received $1.2 million in federal grant funds.

The DNA project will be administered by the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the Denver District Attorney's Office.

Under the program, some people previously convicted of felonies can apply to have DNA testing performed in their case, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

"DNA is one of law enforcement's most effective tools for convicting the guilty and exonerating the innocent," Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a release. "These grant funds will allow us to use DNA to ensure that no Coloradan has been wrongly convicted."

Suthers said that in addition to working with the Denver District Attorney's Office, he will work with several other organizations, including the University of Denver College of Law, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado Public Defender's Office.

The organizations will help run the program and select which cases will be reviewed.

Read more : wrongful-convictions: DNA exoneration project gets $1.2 million

Technorati Tags: dna, colorado, exoneration, dna testing, innocence, wrongful convictions, prison, crime, law

Support the Innocence Project of Florida

2009-10-08T10:59:00.001-07:00

Wilton Dedge’s Bike Blast | Innocence Project of Florida

This weekend, October 10-11, 2009, the Annual Bike Blast will take place in Titusville, FL. This event is very special to us because it is coordinated by Wilton Dedge, who was exonerated in 2004 after DNA testing proved he did not commit the rape for which he was convicted and imprisoned.

Wilton owns a great biker bar in historic Titusville called the Southern Room (345 S Washington Ave) which will be the epicenter of the the event. They expect there to be as many as 5,000 bikes at this 2-day event.

The best part is that they will be having a Poker Run to raise money for the Innocence Project of Florida, which will assist our efforts to find and free the wrongfully convicted. You can view the Poker Run flier and register for the Poker Run. If you would like to be a vendor at the Bike Blast, you can see vendor information and fill out this vendor form.

Come to this great event and support Wilton and the Innocence Project of Florida. For more information, click here.

Technorati Tags: innocence project, florida, prison, crime, law

Featured Prison: Southern Ohio Correctional Facility

2009-10-07T10:08:00.001-07:00

A maximum security prison in Lucasville, Ohio, Southern Ohio Correctional Facility is home to Ohio's death house, where they execute death row inmates.

The prison opened in 1972 has about 1350 inmates and 671 staff. On site, it runs a farming program and the harvested crops are donated to a homeless shelter.

In 1993, a riot broke out at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, during which the prison was controlled by 450 inmates. Several factors contributed to causing the riot, including overcrowding and "discontent in the general population that the authorities were going to force Muslim prisoners to undergo tuberculosis vaccinations in violation of their religious beliefs. During negotiations, the inmates did not feel they were being taken seriously, and voted as a group to kill an Officer in retaliation. They handcuffed Officer Vallandingham, who they had taken hostage, and killed him by strangling him with a dumbell from the prison weight room. During those eleven days, representatives from the Sunni Muslims, Aryan Brotherhood, and Gangster Disciples met every day in an improvised leadership council." (Wikipedia). $40 million dollars in damage is said to have been caused by the riot. Since the riot, the prison is said to be haunted.

As the home of Ohio state executions, this prison has been in the spotlight lately. The state of Ohio has halted executions until the lethal injection procedure is overhauled in an attempt to avoid another botched execution. Last month, Ohio botched the execution of Romell Broom, making it the first time in modern American history that an execution has been abandoned after it began. A grueling, painful two hours after it began.

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility - Ohio DRC

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility/Prison-Lucasville, Ohio - Prison Talk

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility

Haunted Southern Ohio Correctional Facility

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility Riot

Another week to live: Ohio delays execution of Romell Broom after officials can't find inmate's usable vein | Mail Online

To submit a little known fact about this or any other prison, or to suggest a prison for next week's featured prison, please email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Archive of all Featured Prisons on Genpop.org

Technorati Tags: prison, law, crime, capital punishment, death penalty, death row, death house, execution, lethal injection, southern ohio correctional facility, ohio

Cameron Todd Willingham Meeting Post-poned

2009-10-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Looks like Governor Perry of Texas doesn't want it confirmed that he killed an innocent man:

A well-placed source has confirmed to TIME that Perry ignored the written pleas from several members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, including two of his own appointees, to reappoint the board's well-respected chairman, Austin lawyer Sam Bassett. Bassett's departure has resulted in a delay in an important investigation of evidence in a death-penalty case that critics say will prove an innocent man was executed on Perry's watch.

...

Much of the case for Willingham's innocence rests on the conclusions of two prominent forensic arson experts including Craig Beyler, who was scheduled to testify before the commission last week. But Perry's new forensics chairman, Williamson County district attorney John Bradley, a well-known, tough-on-crime prosecutor, cancelled last week's meeting on Willingham, saying he needed time to get up to speed on the commission's work. Beyler's testimony in the Willingham case has now been put off until Bradley sets a hearing, and he has not indicated when, or if, he will, saying he needs to talk to state leaders about the role of the commission. So far, leading Democrats in the state senate who pressed for the creation of the commission are praising Bradley's integrity, but say they will call a hearing in a few weeks to hear what his plans are.

Read more: Texas Forensics Board Gutted Ahead of Death-Penalty Case - TIME

Technorati Tags: cameron tod willingham, texas, forensics board, rick perry, governor perry, death penalty, execution, capital punishment, innocence, wrongful conviction, prison, crime, law

Executions Halted in Ohio

2009-10-06T10:04:00.001-07:00

There's something fundamentally wrong with the logic that it's totally humane to kill so long as the victim feels no pain. But if the possibility of pain is going to stop the state of Ohio from killing, so be it.

The governor of Ohio has halted executions in the state three weeks after a prisoner was subjected to a gruelling two hour attempt to kill him by lethal injection.

The governor, Ted Strickland, issued reprieves for two murderers facing imminent execution after a court blocked further attempts to put to death Romell Broom who endured "torture" as nurses repeatedly sought to insert needles into his arms and ankle, puncturing muscle and hitting bone.

Yesterday, a federal court put Broom's execution for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl on hold at least until after a hearing on 30 November. Another court temporarily delayed Thursday's execution of Lawrence Reynolds after his lawyers argued that Ohio's state executioners are incompetent.

Strickland then called off the executions of Reynolds and Darryl Durr at least until next spring while Ohio reviews its procedures for using lethal injections, the second time it has had to do so in the past three years. The state is considering using lethal injections into the bone marrow or muscles of inmates as alternatives to the traditional intravenous procedure.

The governor said he is prepared to halt the execution of a third prisoner, scheduled to be put to death in December, if the problems have not been resolved.

Read more: Ohio governor halts executions

Of course, there has never been anything humane about lethal injection (http://www.ocucc.org/DeathPenalty/Problems.htm) whether you believe in the death penalty or not.

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, death penalty, capital punishment, execution, lethal injection, ohio, ted strickland

I'm back!

2009-10-06T09:50:00.001-07:00

Moving two countries away is not easy, but I did it again. With a dog. And a baby. Im not quite sure how I did it, but apparently I did as I am here now in chilly Vancouver, BC. Tanless, be-socked and exhausted.

Anyway, in the midst of moving puppies on planes and driving from Calgary and shopping at Ikea every ten minutes to fill up our new space, I didn't have any time to read any news or keep up to date on what's happening in the criminal justice world. So send me some stories, tell me what's happened in the last month and maybe I'll post some of your suggestions. Tweet me @vlu77 or email me at vlu777@gmail.com

Also, be sure to stay tuned this week for the return of the Featured Prison and Prison Book Review

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law

Damon From Death Row

2009-09-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

This was sent to me from Ronja in Norway who is pen pals with Damon, a death row inmate at the Polunsky Unit, Texas.

This is the story of one of my best friends, which I met through a internet page that offers penpals on death row. I thought to myself, “this is great. Why shouldn't I use some of my money and time, to give another person in another country an easier day?”

I started looking trough the list of inmates, and after about an hour I came over a guy named Damon. In that very instant I knew I had to write to him. There was something special about his eyes, they were so.. How should I put it? Secretive. But at the same time they told an entire life story. The pain and fear in them, and at the same time this hard look, as if he are hiding something. His feelings, sort of like he was trying with everything in him to not let the world see who he really was, and what he felt.

I wrote him a long letter, and after about a month I got an answer. In the first letter he sent me some of the lyrics he had written, rap lyrics. I don't have any of them here at the moment, but I will share something he wrote for me further down.

His writing in my opinion is really good. The way he can tell you something one person would use an entire book for, in only one sentence, one line. His vocabulary, knowledge. It really made me think; what was he doing there? How could such a wise person end up in that place?

I asked him what crime he committed, but he didn't answer. He is appealing his case, so he cant talk about it, in fear of ruining it. If I remember correctly, that was something his lawyer told him. But the crime isn't important, and I just asked out of my natural curiosity. The truth is, I don't care what he did. He says hes innocent, I don't question that, because whether or not he is innocent, it isn't an issue I care to think about. Why would I let mistakes he have made in the past, ruin his future?

Damon has an 6 year old son, who was born shortly after he went to death row. A beautiful boy, just like his dad. They are so much alike, it is almost scary in a way. I don't think I've ever seen a father and a son more alike then they are.

Damon has never gotten to hold his son, feed him, hear his first words, or hold his hands as he tries to learn how to walk. He didn't get to follow him to the first day of school. He hasn't even got to stroke his chin, or even gotten to be somewhat close to him in a physical way. Can you imagine that? If you were to meet your son or your daughter, but you couldn't reach out for them.

Imagine knowing your son is running around in the streets, and that if he ever were to get into trouble, you could never help him, you could never protect him. Never, not even once, in his entire life, have you gotten the chance to give him a hug.

I can't imagine the pain he feels. Can you?

People seem to think that the inmates on death row are evil people who deserve it. Not a person, but an inmate, who never can be good for anyone, or contribute with anything. Well, I'll tell you something. Never in my life have I met a smarter person than Damon. Never in my life have I met a person more good. He is caring and loving, and even though I try to look, I cant see anything negative about him. The only thing he might have done wrong (I say might, because I don't know if he is innocent or not) is a mistake from when he was 16 years old.

Who doesn't make mistakes? Especially at that age. You are very easily influenced, you don't really know who you are, or where you're going. So you start exploring around. That's what he was doing. The thing is, the environment he was in wasn't a good environment. He did things he maybe shouldn't have done, and he might have done the thing he now is on death row for.

Be patient with me, I tend to get stuck on one thing for a while, but Ill get to my point now.

People make mistakes, okay? That's something everybody can agree on. Only difference is the type of mistake. Some make small mistakes, other make big mistakes. But because of one mistake, should we really punish the person by killing him or her? And if we kill a murderer, how is that right? We kill someone, because they killed someone. I don't see the logic in that. People change. Damon has changed. He regrets every bad thing he has ever done. I would think this is the point with for example prison, to make people look at themselves and regret, maybe change.

He is a good man. The best man I have ever known. And if there ever came a time where I would have to put my life in his hands, I wouldn't hesitate one second, because there is nowhere in the world my life would be safer; than in his hands.

There hasn't been one time I have regretted writing him that letter. Having this friendship with him is hard, challenging. It hurts when I think about what the Polunsky Unit is going to do to him. Kill him. I can't think about it, if I do I will just start crying, and I'm in a cafe, so that is something I want to avoid.

What I want to say is that in spit of how much it hurts to hear about how they treat him there, or to know the pain he is living in, I still don't regret it. He is the best friend I have ever had. There isn't any friendship I value more then his. And there isn't anything else in the world I want more then to see him free. To know he is walking down the streets in Houston, breathing in the air, on his way to pick up his son from school.

I have never met him, I have just talked to him in letter form. I live in Norway, and he lives in USA. But he has given me so much. Seeing a letter from him in my mailbox brightens up my day to an extent I cant even begin to explain. His words make me laugh.

Someday I'll get the money needed to visit him. To actually see the greatest man the world will ever know.

SPECIAL PEOPLE.

Special people come our way.
The joy they bring is clear as day.
Like angels above,
They take our hopes up real high,
As we float on cloud 9,
Way up in the sky.

They give us gentle love,
A love true and bold.
As a matter of fact a love story yet to be told.
When all else fails and we don't know what to do,
We turn to our special friends,
Knowing they will come through.

Beyond these walls,
Its hard to see,
How special people bring joy,
Because it was destiny,
I sit in my cell and think of you,
My special angel,
Who gets me through.

You will never know what your letters mean to me,
Until you've been where I've been,
And seen what I've seen.

Your letters are witty+ funny too.
They are special to me,
Because they've come from you.

You're a special person,
This I will say,
Thanks for giving me a brighter day.

(Damon)

You can find your own pen pal and change a human being's life, here: http://www.letterstoprison.com - a new web site offering their services free for 6 months.

Technorati Tags: prison, crime, law, death row, polunskty unit, texas, pen pals